As a new Bible class quarter gets under way at MoSt Church at 9:00 a.m. this coming Sun., Sept. 12 our auditorium class, the boomer/builder class, the 20/20 class, and the 20′s & 30′s class will begin a study of spiritual disciplines. As a guide to assist you in our study of Scripture on these exercises for our soul, I’m urging you to acquire a copy of, and to make daily, thorough use of, the same resource aid our class teachers are utilizing, namely, Richard Foster’s modern classic entitled Celebration of Discipline. Any quality Christian bookstore will have a copy or you can order one online via Amazon (http://amzn.to/cdmgr2).

Let me tell you straight up that this book, Celebration of Discipline, is not light, bedtime reading. If you try to just sit down and read it in a hurry or expect the author to entertain you to keep your attention, I guarantee you will come away from this work frustrated and disappointed. If you try to read it so, you will likely not make it halfway through the first chapter for this is anything but your average, run-of-the-mill, mass-market, sugar-coated, hold-your-hand Christian book. This book isn’t milk; it’s thick, red meat. It’s a “deep water” read, designed to give you a serious “workout” to challenge your thinking, call you to thoughtful reflection, and see you to come to practice what is taught. We’re deliberately raising the bar with this study. Dig down and find strength equal to the task. Remember: faith is a journey and thinking is required.

Let me put it this way: for those of us who read Francis Chan’s Crazy Love or viewed the Crazy Love video series, and found ourselves convicted in heart, think of Celebration of Discipline as a logical follow-up to that study. Crazy Love brought us to our knees and Celebration of Discipline will help us get up and walk again, this time with a stronger purpose. Consequently, we’ll need to read Foster’s book slowly and thoughtfully to truly absorb and digest what is being said. In fact, ideally it would be best for us to read only a few paragraphs of each chapter each day for we’ll will want to let the contents of each chapter slowly brew in our brains each week so let’s mull over a few paragraphs each day.

If you’re a part of the 20/20 class, let me urge you, if you haven’t already, to read chapters 1 and 2 before tomorrow night since we’ll focus on an introduction to the spiritual exercises, and meditation in particular, this coming Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. But again, don’t try to read chapter one and two in one sitting. If you have a copy, bring your book to class with you along with your Bible.

There are additional aids for your study that I am providing in addition to Foster’s book. My blog post series “What can I do to truly build myself up in Christ?” is the prime example. Part 9 in that series will appear in tomorrow. Also on the Internet, starting later today, you can watch for my daily Facebook (www.facebook.com/preachersmith) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/preachersmith) updates. Watch for my Facebook and Twitter posts that start with the designation “SD” (i.e. – spiritual disciplines). For those of you who may want to dig deeper into the spiritual disciplines, watch for my mention of other resources (primarily books) as we study each discipline each week throughout the course of this quarter.

If you’re discontent or downright unhappy with where you are in your life with the Lord these days, this study is just what the doctor ordered. Take the medicine. If you’re content and growing in the Lord, this work will help keep you on the trajectory. If you’re new to faith and don’t have a clue as to where to begin in working to deepen your faith, this study will start you off and take you down the right road.

Exercise your soul. Work up a spiritual sweat. Feel the burn of spiritual fervor grow. And smile in the Lord who causes you to grow in Him! (2 Peter 3:18)